How to Find Your Travel Niche in 2024

Our world today is highly specialized. When consumers need a product or service, they seek out someone who has proven knowledge in that particular area. And the internet makes it easy to find experts.

In travel, some advisors still consider themselves generalists, attempting to sell all types of travel and destinations to anyone they meet. But the time spent trying to stay current on endless destinations and suppliers, and then selling to everyone, wastes time and money. A better approach is to position oneself as an expert in a designated niche – and those travel advisors who have done this have a leg up on the competition. Specialization is a foundation for running a profitable travel business.

The benefits of the niche
The benefits for travel advisors to market themselves as having a niche are multi-fold. Marilyn Valenti-Tampoya, travel agent, Live Laugh Love Travel, explains: “There are so many options to choose from when it comes to travel. If you open yourself up to arranging any and all travel, especially as a new travel advisor, you will generally feel very overwhelmed. There is a lot of information out there along with thousands of travel suppliers to choose from. Knowing your niche will help you narrow down your preferred travel partner list. These preferred travel partners will offer you a great deal of support, and that is a big key to being even more successful as a travel planner. 

Furthermore, she describes: “Once you have a clear niche, you can come up with a better marketing strategy. A well-planned marketing strategy will help you thrive in the travel industry. I have seen a much better return on my marketing investment, once I put my focus into a certain niche.   

“When you have a travel niche, this means you are an expert in that type of travel. When you are an expert, planning tailored experiences will feel very natural and will take much less time. Our time is very valuable, and putting your focus into certain areas of travel will reduce wasted time.”  

Valenti-Tampoya says that “becoming an expert in a particular travel niche will lead to positive travel reviews, testimonials, and referrals. This is very important to a travel advisor — and this is how I personally became very successful in the travel industry.”  

How this advisor found her specialty
Valenti-Tampoya’s travel niches are group travel, destination weddings, and romantic getaways. Yes, it is ok to have more than one, especially when they are complementary.

She says: “With 25-plus years in the travel industry, I have developed an affinity for planning group vacations, because once you fine-tune the vacation details with your lead travel client, arranging accommodations for other travelers in the same group comes with relative ease. There may be some small adjustments made to each traveler added on to the group, but basically, it will be the same travel package. Groups by far are NOT easy, but once you get past the first planning stages with your lead travel client, subsequent planning gets a little easier. Plus, with groups, you can offer the best possible rate out there. That rate is usually hard to beat, even with big promotional offers, such as a Black Friday deal!   

“I love planning destination weddings because it gives me the opportunity to bring a couple together with their loved ones to share the special moment of being united at a fabulous location. With destination weddings, my clients have always been so happy and excited to attend. In a non-destination wedding, you will only get to spend one special day with your loved ones. With a destination wedding, one day is impossible to do. Most of my wedding travel clients are at a destination for 5-7 nights. That is 5-7 nights of creating special memories with the bride and groom and really extending that wedding bliss experience.”

One niche can build upon another one, as her example shows: “Romantic getaways can consist of adult-only, all-inclusive packages or unique experiences for the happy couple. This could be for honeymooners, those celebrating an anniversary, or any other special occasion. I have plenty of couples who just love making time for each other 1-2 times a year, and ask me to help them plan a romantic getaway. I found that I am best at creating experiences for those who want to share time with their loved ones. This is why I found my way into this niche.”     

Tips for defining a travel niche
This all begs the question of where in the world do you start in finding the travel specialty that best suits you and your travel business? First, do some research and brainstorming. Consider niches that other travel advisors have successfully promoted, such as adventure travel, heritage travel, medical tourism, wellness travel, luxury cruises, family travel, bicycling tourism, bucket list travel, Disney, sports travel, solo travel, senior travel … and the list is virtually endless. Look for success stories in the travel trades, and see where it takes you.

If 2024 is the year for you to define your travel specialty, Valenti-Tampoya suggests that “you first need to do a deep self-assessment. Knowing what your own passions and interests are in travel will allow you to select a specialty that you love. Ultimately, you can be a great asset when it comes to planning similar travel for others. When we have a love for a certain type of travel, it becomes much easier to sell it to others.”

Next, think about who your clients will be. Women, singles, sports enthusiasts, wine and food connoisseurs, honeymooners, multigenerational families, etc.? What are their ages, economic status, travel desires? Get to know the mindset of your target audience(s). And then, do more research to determine whether there is a demand for this type of travel, and how big the market is.

And finally, test the waters of your niche before diving fully in, to get a better sense of how the market might respond to your new offerings. Social media generally works well for this type of sleuthing.

Most importantly, in these early weeks of the new year, take just the next step in learning the art of the niche. With some ingenuity and determination, the process will unfold from there.

Consider these wise parting words of advice from Valenti-Tampoya: “I wish I had known about finding a niche when I first started in the travel industry. After many years of trial and error, I realized that once I put my focus into a certain niche, everything else started to fall into place at a much faster pace. My business did not build up overnight. It took a lot of focus and dedication to get through challenges and setbacks. However, embracing my travel niche has allowed me to establish a deeper connection to the travel community, which I have found to be very rewarding.”

FROM THE SPONSOR:
Peak Season is here and ALG Vacations® is dedicated to equipping you with the tools and knowledge needed for a seamless navigation through this bustling period. Show clients why they should Ask A Travel Advisor by boosting your booking savvy with ALGVPro certifications and take advantage of the customizable marketing tools available on ALGV360°. Providing assistance in handling potential disruptions for your clients, ALGV ensures streamlined support through various channels – from Click to Chat, Click to Email, to Click to Call options.

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for January 11th to join the ALG Vacations® Education Team in a webinar, where they will share updates on news, tools, and resources, ensuring you stay primed and prepared for the upcoming booking season. ALGV is dedicated to prioritizing your success and remains committed to empowering you at every stage of your journey. Visit www.algvacations.com to get primed for peak today!